M R Law Solicitors have successfully recovered damages on behalf of a woman who suffered a deep vein thrombosis as a result of treatment received in hospital.

The patient had attended hospital for the fitting of a catheter, otherwise known as a PICC line. The hospital then failed to arrange a follow up assessment at which she should have been prescribed heparin to help thin her blood and reduce the risk of thrombosis.

The woman who was pregnant at the time required a catheter for possible use during childbirth. She attended hospital where the PICC line was fitted. She should then have undergone an assessment to check her condition and for the prescribing of further medication, but instead she was discharged without receiving any follow up care

A few days later she began to suffer pain in her shoulder and arm. She was admitted to hospital as an emergency before undergoing treatment for the deep vein thrombosis. Despite receiving this treatment thereby preventing further serious complications arising, she continued to suffer ongoing pain and discomfort in her arm and shoulder.

Tracy Brimelow, part of the Medical Negligence team at M R Law comments:

“Our client was considered a high risk during pregnancy due to existing medical conditions. It was agreed that she would require the PICC line and the hospital went on to fit it as planned.

However, they then failed to provide our client with appropriate follow-up care. Had they done so, it was clear they would then have supplied her with blood thinners to reduce the likelihood of her suffering a thrombosis. The fact that they failed to provide this follow-up care was disappointing and the DVT our client went on to suffer was entirely avoidable.

It is to the credit of the hospital that they subsequently conducted a serious incident investigation and put in place steps to reduce the likelihood of this happening to any other patient.

Despite that, our client suffered the unnecessary distress of the thrombosis, together with the ongoing pain and discomfort.

I am pleased that we were able to resolve this claim satisfactorily on her behalf.

If you have suffered complications arising from hospital treatment, please contact our specialist medical negligence team to speak directly to a qualified and experienced lawyer.